About a week ago, I looked out onto our front lawn and saw some wild violets beginning to grow there. Because we’re a little…passionate, shall we say, about using what we’ve been given, I quickly googled to see if we could use wild violets in any culinary attempts.

Enter violet jelly, which is apparently a THING in Europe. Who knew?
I do, now.

So I polled facebook to find out if anyone knew of a local source for a large quantity of violets. A kind someone graciously volunteered their lawn. Today, I took our oldest to their lawn and made a game of getting as many violets before a forecasted rainstorm, which still hasn’t happened. Those weathermen.

We gathered about two quart-sized ziplock baggies between their lawn and ours.

Gather your violets. Make sure they are from a safe place where pesticides have not been sprayed.

Pour boiling water over violets, and let sit for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. Strain the flowers out, making sure to press out all of the water. You should have 3-1/2 cups of blue-green colored violet water.

Add lemon juice, pectin, and sugar and stir. Transfer to a 4-quart pot.

Bring to boil, boil for one minute. Skim off foamy residue.

We chose to strain the liquid as we poured it into our sterilized jars. This is optional---we just wanted a very smooth texture to our jelly.

You see, I found a friend-that-I-don’t-know-but-used-to-follow-on-Pinterest. She’s still pinning, but I just haven’t been on pinterest in a while. This friend-that-I-don’t-know has transformed from a gardening/backyard chicken person to a full-on doomsday prepper. Complete with this survival doll. (Please go read this link, if you’re sane and in the mood for a good chuckle.)

I am not and will never be a “doomsday prepper.” This world is not my home, I’m just passin’ through. I’m not at all concerned about how I die or when I die.

I disagree with Doomsday Prepping at the very heart of its philosophy. Preppers’ basic tenet is self-preservation. If your life philosophy stems from preservation of self, your life will revolve around self. Preppers could use their gifts and talents for so much good—generously giving to those who need it. Preppers’ philosophy is based on fear. I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

All that being said, I can admire some of the skills that preppers value and their fantastic work ethic. Here are seven things that I think that doomsday preppers get right.

Natural cleaning methods.

Holistic health.

Gardening

Primitive handicrafts

“Putting by” or canning.

Waste not.

Alternative energy sources.

Preppers are fantastic at valuing resources, especially natural resources. Foraging, an interest of ours, is ho-hum knowledge to doomsday preppers instead of the novelty that it is to Michael and I. Want to know how to make a needle out of bone that can sew through leather? Ask a prepper. Want to know how basic hygiene and dish washing happens in the wild without external assistance? Ask a prepper.

Admittedly, last night, after stumbling onto this old friend-that’s-not-a-friend’s pinterest boards, I lay awake for far too long thinking about if a hypothetical disaster happened and this friend ran out of baking soda, how would she survive? Almost all of her potions and recipes involved vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. What would happen? Would she make it at home? How do you make baking soda at home?

And a google search commenced.

So maybe I’m not that far from a doomsday prepper myself. I possess the curiosity to know how things are made, where we get our resources, and how to conserve resources.